Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Surface of Earth, showing higher elevations in red. Geomorphology (from Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) 'earth' μορφή (morphḗ) 'form' and λόγος 'study') [2] is the scientific study of the origin and evolution of topographic and bathymetric features generated by physical, chemical or biological processes operating at or near Earth's surface.
Landforms are categorized by characteristic physical attributes such as elevation, slope, orientation, structure stratification, rock exposure, and soil type.Gross physical features or landforms include intuitive elements such as berms, mounds, hills, ridges, cliffs, valleys, rivers, peninsulas, volcanoes, and numerous other structural and size-scaled (e.g. ponds vs. lakes, hills vs. mountains ...
Earth's lithosphere, the rigid outer shell of the planet including the crust and upper mantle, is fractured into seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates or "platelets". Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of plate boundary (or fault): convergent, divergent, or transform.
Continental-continental divergent/constructive boundary Oceanic divergent boundary: mid-ocean ridge (cross-section/cut-away view). In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other.
The remaining 29.2% of Earth's crust is land, most of which is located in the form of continental landmasses within Earth's land hemisphere. Most of Earth's land is at least somewhat humid and covered by vegetation , while large sheets of ice at Earth's polar deserts retain more water than Earth's groundwater , lakes, rivers and atmospheric ...
Strike-slip faults with left-lateral motion are also known as sinistral faults and those with right-lateral motion as dextral faults. [18] Each is defined by the direction of movement of the ground as would be seen by an observer on the opposite side of the fault. A special class of strike-slip fault is the transform fault when it forms a plate ...
Aeolian landforms, or Eolian landforms, are produced by either the erosive or depositive action of wind. These features may be built up from sand or snow , [ 1 ] or eroded into rock, snow, or ice. Aeolian landforms are commonly observed in sandy deserts and on frozen lakes or sea ice and have been observed and studied around Earth and on other ...
Atolls like Atafu in Tokelau in the Pacific Ocean are landforms associated to tropical climate. No atoll exists outside the tropics. Climatic geomorphology is the study of the role of climate in shaping landforms and the earth-surface processes. [1] An approach used in climatic geomorphology is to study relict landforms to infer ancient ...